About Me

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

It has been a long week--and it's only Wednesday. I guess if I were assessing the last seven days, LONG would be a good assessment. I mean, most of it was good, but there was a lot going on.

In the last 7 days, I have driven to & from Dallas, to & from Austin, and about 400 more miles around town. I have had several nights with fewer than four hours sleep, sandwiched between days full of activity. Thirty-one family members travelled in from out of town, in addition to the seven who already live here, all to witness a wedding that no one really believed should happen.

Here's the deal--the wedding happened. Now it's time to pray that the Lord pursues the heck out of them and changes hearts in major ways. Just pray and pray and pray and pray. I have rarely seen so many graceless relationships as I did at this wedding. I would be completely devastated if I didn't know and trust that the Lord pursues us 1-in His timing and 2-when we are unlovable.

Now, the good news. We had fun visits all around. I had good times with sisters and parents and brothers and nieces and nephews and friends. Plus, there was amazing food, 6 a.m. coffee dates, and lots of babies (big and small) to love on. I didn't take a single photo. I'm counting on a few good peeps to send photos my way. At this point, I am not in a position to buy a new camera, so I am at your mercy--if you've got photos, please share :) Here is one that has come my way--it's pretty fun...

If you can believe it, the big kid is cousins with the little kid she's holding. My nieces & nephews are growing into adults and I'm missing so much of it. I am pretty proud of them...as a group of young adults they are turning out pretty okay. The other good news is that the laughing we did in this photo was accompanied by much more laughing over the weekend.

By Monday, I was really thankful that I had the forethought to take the extra day off work. I was T-I-R-E-D. On top of that, my sweet Junnah puppy died sometime between Sunday night & Monday morning. She will be missed...she was super-sweet. That event was not how I wanted to start my week.

Okay--some good news...I promise there is some...our church plant here in Temple has a place to worship--and it's only about a mile from my house. After five years of commuting lots of miles to church, our new worship site will be within walking distance of my house :) Yeah! In a few weeks we're going to start doing Sunday worship right here. God has certainly blessed our city & I have been praying for Him to show us how best to serve the city. Also, my friend Mandi asked me to speak at the Survivor's dinner for the ACS's Relay for Life. The dinner is in September, the overnight walk is usually within a month or so of that. I told Mandi I'd speak, now I am searching for what I want to share. The dinner is sometime in late September, so I guess I have some time to decide what I want to share. Last thing--I applied to get licensed to do foster care. Who knows what will happen with that, but if all goes well, I could have foster placements by Christmas--that would be a change of pace for sure!

Last thing--I told my boss today that coming back from vacation I had to preach to myself that I didn't hate my job, but that I really loved vacation. I am tired. Unlike most people, I am looking forward to the end of summer, the quiet-ness to return to my days. I miss being able to check things off my to-do list.

Here's hoping the next seven days are less eventful, and more full of God.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Pick a number between, say, 1 and 10. Now, think back that number of years. What in your life is different from that long ago? At Debby's the other night, we talked about six years. After hearing about all that has happened in Debby's family in six years, I thought it would be an interesting exercise to try for my life.

I thought about listing all of the things that are significant, but I don't have the time, the energy, or the memory to list them all. The thought that sticks with me is how grateful I am for that passage of time. You have beautiful kids that weren't around six years ago. I have friendships now that are so much richer because of the passage of time. I also have friends I've made in the last six years that I cannot imagine my life without. I have seen friends move away, families grow, and sometimes, I've seen hearts break. I have learned how to love more fully, to cry with the grieving, to laugh with abandon, and that it is perfectly okay to sit in silence.

In those six years, I have changed jobs, survived cancer, bought a house, learned vulnerability, and missed family far away. I have watched life slip away and miraculously return, and I have stood on the precipice of heartbreak and stepped away stronger and more hopeful. I have learned that God's promises are real, doubted them, and then seen them fulfilled in the most faith-filling way.

Here's to more years, to time passing, and taking time to appreciate what each day brings. If the last six years have taught me anything, it is that we cannot know what the Lord has in store. We should shout joyfully about this day that He has made, and love the ones we spend it with in whatever way we can.